Massey should defend its academic by ending relationship

TEU
national president Sandra Grey says Massey University should
immediately distance itself from Mark Unsworth and his
lobbying company Unsworth Saunders after his attack on one
of its academics, Dr Mike Joy.

Mr Unsworth has been
emailing Dr Joy in an attempt to stop him speaking up
publicly on his area of expertise, the quality of New
Zealand's waterways.

The New Zealand Herald
reports that Mr Unsworth wrote: "You guys are the Foot and
Mouth Disease of the tourism industry. Most ordinary people
in NZ would happily have you lot locked up."

Massey
University is a past or present client of the lobbying
company Unsworth Saunders.

"We have argued in the past
that public tertiary institutions should not waste public
money hiring private lobbying companies to have their voice
heard by the minister for tertiary education or other public
education officials," said Sandra Grey. "However, that
corporate relationship moves from wasteful to dangerous when
the lobbyist in question starts attacking academics for
doing their job."

"Massey University should defend its
academic Dr Mike Joy and end its business relationship with
Unsworth Saunders immediately. Other tertiary education
institutions that have a business relationship with Unsworth
Saunders should do so
too."ends

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